From The Shadows
by I'mNotYourAngel
Summary: Jace witnesses a private moment. Oneshot.


"Well, _you_ look miserable."

Jace barely spared Maia a glance, tipping the remainder of his drink back and making a face.

"Lame party," he muttered, signaling the bartender for a refill.

Jace usually loved parties, but right now, he just wasn't feeling it. He'd had a shit week and just wanted to get drunk. He lifted his glass once again but Maia snatched it from his hand.

"What the hell," he said, irritated, finally turning to face her. She had a smirk on her face.

"While I am _all_ for drowning your sorrows," she paused to examine his drink, shuddering in distaste, "do you need to do it with swill? Come on. Have some self-respect."

Jace shrugged. "You're the bartender, what do you recommend?"

Maia grinned as she leaned over the bar and ordered two new drinks, sliding one over to him and raising her glass toward him.

"To broken hearts," she said, tossing her shot back.

"My heart isn't broken," Jace scoffed before following suit, wincing slightly as the pleasant burn traveled down his throat.

"Sure, it's not," she said amicably, ordering two more shots before turning around on the barstool and taking a long look around at the party.

"What do you care, anyway?" he asked as he grabbed the shots, turning to join her.

"You know the saying, misery loves company," she sighed as she accepted one of the shots from him. "Or at least a drinking buddy."

Jace chuckled a bit at that, clinking his glass against hers before downing the shot and leaning his elbows against the bar.

And so went the next hour and a half, drinking and shooting the shit with Maia, who was surprisingly easy to talk to when she wasn't trying to kill him.

"I'm just saying, you can't mope around over a break up forever, you know. Go out there and get some, you're a catch," Maia was saying as she nursed a beer. Jace raised his eyebrows at her, grinning suggestively. Maia cackled at that.

"Oh, no, that was a one time only thing, golden boy. But if I may use my personal experience to confirm that you've got a least a couple redeeming qualities..." she drawled, winking playfully.

"Redeeming qualities?" Jace scoffed, mock offended. "I have no downsides."

Maia laughed harder, shaking her head as she stood from her barstool.

"I'm gonna head out. You hang in there," she said, wrapping her arm around him in a brief side hug before making her way through the crowd.

"Yeah," Jace said quietly to himself, his cheery mood dissolving as he was left to his thoughts once again. His eyes swept over the crowd, picking out a few people he knew from work; he spotted Isabelle flirting with a Seelie knight in the corner and Alec and Magnus were wrapped up in their own little world on the couch.

And then there was Clary... Clary, who wasn't his sister; Clary, who wasn't his anything anymore, he reminded himself as he finished the rest of his drink. His eyes lingered on her, her face bright and open as she laughed and talked, her hands waving animatedly around her. He tensed as Simon came up behind her, placing his hands on her waist, his gut twisting at the happy expression on her face as she turned to kiss him.

He hated this. He wanted her to be happy, but _god_ it hurt to see her happy with someone else. He hated that he still craved her, hated that he knew when she tightened her fingers around Simon's shoulder, it meant she was feeling frisky, and he _hated_ that Simon seemed to know it, too, watching as he pulled her closer by the waist as he kissed her.

Jace shook his head, overwhelmed, standing suddenly and pushing through the crowd until he found a hallway that led to an empty alcove, stumbling in and slumping against the wall as his head spun. He had lost track of how long he'd been there, eyes closed and forehead pressed against the wall when he heard a crash nearby. He could make out giggles and shushing followed by wet smacking sounds. _Great_, he thought as he prepared to reveal himself to the couple making out on the other side of the wall.

"_Simon_," one of the voices sighed, and Jace froze. It couldn't be...

Swallowing hard, he slowly peeked around the corner, eyes widening when he saw Clary backed against the wall opposite him, clinging tightly to Simon's upper back as his hand moved under her skirt.

He knew he should cough or say something, anything other than what he was doing now, but he couldn't tear his eyes away. Her head tilted back and her eyes fluttered closed as Simon's mouth trailed along her neck, her soft moans making Jace harden in his pants.

"_Shit_," she sighed, pushing at Simon slightly. "What if someone catches us?"

Jace felt a pang of guilt as he heard Simon chuckle.

"No one is coming back here, I promise."

He pulled back slightly, reaching between their bodies to lift up the front of her skirt, tucking the hem into the waistband and trailing both hands over her thighs. From this angle, Jace could see Clary perfectly, her kiss-swollen lips, her heaving chest, the wet spot on the front of her light blue panties.

"_Simon_!" she whispered desperately. "_Please_..."

"I'm getting there," he hummed teasingly as he slowly slid her panties down her hips, swallowing her whimpers with a deep kiss before pulling back and meeting her gaze steadily as he thrust two fingers into her. She cried out, her eyes slamming shut as her head fell back against the wall, taking heaving breaths as she rolled her hips against his hand.

"That's it," Simon whispered, his eyes raking over her greedily. Jace's did, too. He couldn't help but slide his hand down to cup the bulge in his pants, groaning as quietly as he could at the pressure.

"Fuck," she gasped as she pulled Simon closer, "_kiss me_..."

He obliged, pressing their lips together and muffling her gasps as he fingered her roughly. Jace couldn't take it anymore, he quickly unbuttoned his jeans and slipped his hand into his boxers, biting back a moan as he gripped his aching hard-on. Slowly, he stroked himself, not wanting to come before Clary did, and by the look of things, she was close.

Her chest was heaving violently as her nails left deep imprints in Simon's arm, her other hand clutching his hair tightly as her hips rocked against his. Their mouths broke apart as Clary gasped loudly, raising up on her toes slightly as her back began to arch.

"Harder," she whimpered, an overjoyed cry ripping from her throat as Simon's fingers began to slam into her harder and faster than before. Jace couldn't help the groan that spilled from his lips as he fisted his cock faster, dropping to his knees and racing toward the edge with her.

"Come for me, Clary," he heard Simon say softly and her choked off sob was the last thing he registered as his vision whited out, teeth biting his cheek harshly as he came hard. He tasted blood as he slowly came to, Clary's soft whimpers breaking through the fog in his mind as he slowly turned around again, peeking cautiously around the corner.

Clary was slumped against the wall breathing heavily with a small grin on her face as Simon pulled her panties back up and straightened her skirt.

"You good?" he asked gently, leaning his forehead against hers.

"Yeah," she laughed lightly. "Where the _hell_ did that come from?"

"Are you complaining?" he grinned, nudging her nose with his.

"Not in the slightest," she breathed out, tilting her head up and kissing him hard, her hands moving up to frame his face as he gripped her waist. They broke apart panting but didn't let go of one another.

"Boathouse?" Simon whispered raggedly.

"Yes, _please_," Clary sighed, kissing him once more before taking his arm and leaning her head on his shoulder as they left the room.

Jace sighed, fisting his hand in his hair and trying to ignore the twist in his gut. He slowly pulled his other hand out of his pants, pulling a face at the mess he'd made.

"Shit," he muttered as he wiped his hand on his shirt, closing his jacket and zipping it up to hide the stain. He stood shakily, giving himself a quick once over to make sure he was covered up before leaving the room, making his way back through the party towards the exit. He just wanted to go home.


End file.
